Is the CA125 used for ovarian cancer only or the whole pelvic area

[henning]

I have heard about this CA125 and from reading the post it is not a good marker for OC, my question is this- Is the CA125 test only used for OC or is it used if there is problems in the bladder, kidneys or liver? I heard it called a tumor marker, does this mean a tumor is present somewhere in the pelvic area but may not be in the gyn. parts? I'm confused about this test and what it looks for.I know its used for treatment to see how chemo is working in OC patients but is that about its main use? Thank you

[henning]

Thank you Gail for the response to my question about the CA125, it helps me to understand what the Gyn/Onc was telling me. I had the test done a week ago which came back 5.5 which was great but the more we talked he feels he needs to go in and look at the remaining ovary. But a urine test showed I have blood in my urine not visable so the plan is to see a urologist/onc have a cystoscopy done if that comes back clear than he would like to do a lap. to check the ovary. I have lost alot of weight 40lbs and the pain in unbearable at times, he feels that the weight loss could be from the constant pain i'm in. I feel very confident in the hospital i'm at Roswell Cancer Institue and the doctors he did make me a promise that they will get to the bottom of this. He also talked about long term pain management at the hospital. Thank you again for your help.
Penny

[gah_70]

A CA125 measures a specific protein in the body that is found in higher concentrations specifically in ovarian cancer tumors (not kidneys, bladder, liver etc).  But because it can increase in the body for other conditions besides ovarian cancer such as endometriosis, benign cysts, etc, an elevated reading alone cannot diagnose ovarian cancer. Likewise, women with certain types of ovarian cancer (MMMT, or clear cell, for example) may not have an elevated reading at all.  That's why it is primarily used as a marker to determine how well a woman is responding to ovarian cancer treatment...IF her type of cancer is sensitive to the CA125 test.

There is lots of information out there on it, so try Googling it and see what reputable medical web sites say about it.  You'll probably get a lot of medical jargon, but you should be able to get a pretty good idea about what it is measuring, and why it is only a small piece of the puzzle doctors use to help diagnose and to monitor treatment.  

Gail